Submissions are now officially open for the 2014 Independent Games Festival, to be held for a 16th year during GDC 2014 in San Francisco next March. This directly follows a record-breaking year, which saw nearly 900 entries for the 2013 event, including top prizewinners like FTL: Faster Than Light.

“During the past 16 years, we’ve had the pleasure of recognizing some of best talent in the independent games community and look forward to continuing that tradition with IGF 2014,” said IGF Chairman Brandon Boyer. “Each year, the games of the IGF have upped the ante in truly innovative ways, creating unique entertainment experiences that can only be told through the medium of games. We are very excited to see what this year’s competitors have in store.”

The deadlines for the Main and Student Showcase categories for the 16th IGF are October 19 and October 31, 2013 respectively, with finalists announced in January 2014. Finalists’ games will once again be playable at the packed IGF Pavilion on the Game Developers Conference 2014 Expo Floor, and will compete for nearly $60,000 in prizes.

These plaudits include the Excellence in Visual Art, Audio, Design, and Narrative Awards, which will have an expanded amount of six finalists each, with the winner getting $3,000 in each category. There will also be an expanded six finalists for the $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.This year also sees the return of the Best Student Game award, with eight finalists ($3,000 prize), and the special Nuovo Award ($5,000, eight finalists) will again honor ‘abstract, shortform, and unconventional’ games. Finally, the IGF Audience Award ($3,000) will be decided by a public vote from all of the Main Competition finalists.

The Independent Games Festival is the longest-running and highest profile independent video game festival, summit and showcase. It has served as a springboard for several games that have gone on to become critical and cultural hits. Previous IGF prize winners from the past 16 years include Spelunky, Fez, Minecraft, Limbo, World of Goo, Braid, Castle Crashers, Everyday Shooter and many more of the game industry’s breakthrough independent titles.

Winners will be announced on stage at the high-profile Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, with the IGF Pavilion open from March 19-21, and the sister Independent Games Summit event taking place on March 17 and 18.

The Independent Games Festival is a part of the 2014 Game Developers Conference, which will be held from March 17 - March 21, 2014 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. IGF continues to be the largest annual gathering of independent video game developers, showcasing top talent across the industry and keeping a pulse on the future of independent games.

Submissions to the competition are now open to all independent game developers; important dates for IGF 2014 are as follows:

August 8, 2013 - Submissions are Open

October 19, 2013 - Submission Deadline, Main Competition

October 31, 2013 - Submission Deadline, Student Competition

January 7, 2014 - Finalists Announced, Main Competition

January 13, 2014 - Finalists Announced, Student Competition

March 17 - March 21, 2014 - Game Developers Conference 2014

March 17 - March 18, 2014 - Independent Games Summit @ GDC 2014

March 19 - March 21, 2014 - IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2014

March 19, 2014 - IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

For a complete list of information on the 2014 Independent Games Festival, including submission specifics and frequently asked questions, visit the official Independent Games Festival website at the link below.
2014 Independent Games Festival